SP721-Sunflower: An Alternative Crop for Tennessee Producers - Production Guidelines and Tennessee Hybrid Trials

Tennessee producers are interested in crops that can be grown to diversify and/or complement their current cropping systems that include corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. There is a growing demand for birdseed, and sunflower is an important component of that feed, either as a sole ingredient or in a blend with other seeds such as millet, corn, sesame, sorghum, wheat and oats. Sunflower oil is used for human consumption and is also a suitable feedstock for biodiesel. An increasing demand for biodiesel will increase the demand for oilseed crops such as sunflower. Thus, there may be increased opportunities for some Tennessee producers to grow sunflower for these markets.

This publication provides general information about the growth, development and production of sunflower. Results from four years of sunflower hybrid trials conducted in Tennessee are included to provide producers with information about how these hybrids perform under Tennessee conditions.